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Serj Tankian frontedone of the great metallic rock bands of recent years, System of a Down. Eventhen, no one could accuse him of narrow ambitions. Politically active andfinding subtle ways to incorporate the music of his Armenian heritage intoraging, aggressive rock, Tankian was able to blend blood-soaked apocalypticimagery with angry social insights.
With Elect the Dead Symphony, Tankian mighthave overplayed his gifts. It was recorded with the Auckland Philharmonia, butit’s no symphonyjust a collection of drama-trauma songs. The orchestralarrangements seldom amount to much more than a moody backdrop for Tankian’slyrics, which rail at the perpetrators of great crimes and remind us that welive in a world of broken hearts and broken bodies illuminated nevertheless bythe hope and potential of humanity. His quirky vocals, so effective leading thelacerating System of a Down, sound misplaced in front of all those violins andcellos.
